Long-term trends in height, weight and body mass index of children and adolescents in Macao Special Administrative Region (China), 2005–2020

by Qingyuan Li, Yousong Yue

Objective

To assess long-term trends in height, weight and body mass index (BMI) among children and adolescents from 2005 to 2020 in Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), China.

Methods

Height, weight and BMI data for Macao children and adolescents aged 6–18 years were obtained from the Physical Fitness Reports of Macao SAR Residents in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Sex-specific two-way analysis of variance was used to estimate the differences in means. The Bonferroni post hoc test was used for multiple comparisons.

Results

During the entire period, the average height, weight and BMI increased by 2.1 cm (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6 to 2.6 cm), 4.0 kg (95% CI: 3.2 to 4.8 kg), and 1.1 kg/m² (95% CI: 0.8 to 1.3 kg/m²) for boys and 2.4 cm (95% CI: 1.9 to 2.9 cm), 2.6 kg (95% CI: 1.9 to 3.3 kg), and 0.5 kg/m² (95% CI: 0.3 to 0.8 kg/m²) for girls, respectively (p  Conclusion

There were positive long-term trends in growth among Macao children and adolescents since 2005. Sex differences in changes of weight and BMI over the past five years may be related to the pandemic, and efforts are needed by governments and public health departments.